Tractor question

I have a Montana 4344 tractor. Some really crappy welding cut loose,so I had to fix it. Now, I have the bars that lift the back box fully pulled up, and can find no way in hell to get them back down. We've tried every possibility, but can't get them to operate and drop. I have an ad in for a mechanic in the local paper. Any ideas?

Steve

Reply to
SteveB
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SteveB fired this volley in news:lhnc2e$l8g$1 @speranza.aioe.org:

Don't know about the Montana specifically, but most hydraulic lifts have a relief valve that actuates when you push down on the lift lever or switch, while at the same time DE-activating the 'up' circuit.

Some (not all) tractors have "power down", but a lot just let the pressure off the lift cylinder when pushed down.

Either way, if your lift arms won't drop, then the valve isn't being actuated. It could be as simple as the lever not engaging the valve. And THAT could be caused by wear in the linkage between lever and valve, which is not uncommon.

If your down circuit is electrical, investigate the switch.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

Yeah, UP is pressurized, DOWN is usually a spool venting that cylinder to an unpressurized return line to the tank, allowing the weight of the implement to force the oil out.

How clean is the hydraulic system in the tractor? Regular maintenance keeps the particles out of the system with new filters and clean, dry oil. When they get into the stream, it causes sticky spools in the valving. Most I've seen are secured by the lever, but some are detent- only. The detent-only seem to be the type which stick.

Most of my hydraulic knowledge is ancient and related to automatic transmissions on vehicles, but I thought I'd add what little other info I've gleaned over the years.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

We can't help you without pics if you gto some sort of mechanical interference problem.

Now, the hydraulic lift arms work about the same on every tractor I've owned. The whole unit is going to come out as an assembly that under the tractor seat The lift arm position lever controls a valve that pressurizes the lift cylinder or releases it to drop the arms.

I'd suggest pull this assembly off and inspect. 9 times out of 10 the problem is obvious once taken down.

karl

Reply to
Karl Townsend

The Montana tractor is a Korean tractor - made by a company formerly known as "Lucky GoldStar" - AKA LG, and then spun off as LS Tractor. It is a Mitsubishi design - also sold as a Landini, New Holland, McCormick, and several other names.

I would suspect a problem in the "draft control" The 3 point hitch has

2 controls - the standard "up/down" and draft control (which maintains a fixed cultivation depth by powering the lift both up and down, IIRC) Make sure both controls are in the fully down position. Hydraulic problems have been the bane of many a Landini owner (and New Holland too) over the years.
Reply to
clare

Y'mean when the mud leaks out of the control valve as you remove the hydraulic lines? It's a dead giveaway.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

On 4/5/2014 8:31 AM, Larry Jaques wrote: ...

...

Don't know what farm you've been on, but dirt/contamination of the extent that would prevent arm movement is the _last_ thing I'd suspect on any of our equipment...from the little 30 hp utility to the big 'uns.

It's a controls issue of some sort -- not had a Mahindra but I'd suspect a linkage issue w/ the controls not opening the valve. If it does have a draft control system, that'd be a good bet.

Reply to
dpb

No mud daubers where you live? I've had them build a mud nest in a friggin' LP cylinder valve, they get *everywhere*

Reply to
Pete C.

"Pete C." fired this volley in news:5340223d$0 $28159$ snipped-for-privacy@ngroups.net:

Yeah, well _all_ tractors have very ordinary defenses against that sort of thing. If not, they would be useless in the very duty for which they're intended.

Hell... I've run tractors (including small 'lawn types') where the entire machine AND me were covered with mud an inch thick all-over, and nothing

- nada - fails to work. I live in what's named "Florida Flat-woods", where the mean water table is less than a foot below the ground about 8 months of the year. Everything is mud, most of the time.

It's a linkage problem, or a blockage in a line; and I'd bet a link has worn or come loose, so that it can't actuate the relief.

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

"Lloyd E. Sponenburgh"

Has teflon tape been used anywhere on this machine? Applied carelessly, there may be string jamming up a valve somewhere...

Reply to
Phil Kangas

What did you weld? Where? It is possible that the heat or warping caused a problem with the three point hydraulics.

Reply to
Steve W.

Yes, ditch the teflon tape and go to Rectorseal 5 for threaded connections.

Reply to
Pete C.

Another possibility is you over extended (lifted) the arms and possibly a sector gear is not out of mesh with the piston rack. Probably would requite disassembly to resolve, which it sounds like is required in any case.

Reply to
Pete C.

No, the mud I refer to is contaminants/rust/water in the lines which plug up the valving. Water and its resultant rust suspended in oil turns it into a gelled mixture, which I call "mud" in this context.

You left one open to the elements and fauna?

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Larry Jaques fired this volley in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

??? You use your machine and don't let it come up to temperature?

I have not ever had condensation collect in any of my hydraulics. And I guarantee you, I live in the "condensation zone". We have 'dews' here that most folks would consider monsoons.

Anyone who cares about their hydraulics knows to warm them up whenever they're used, enough to drive off any moisture that might have condensed in the case between uses.

If your system sits wet long enough to get rust in the tank, you don't really need a tractor, you just 'keep' one (and way too long between uses).

LLoyd

Reply to
Lloyd E. Sponenburgh

Hayull NO! But the most common malady I've seen in HYD circuits is water-jellied rust. OTHER people's crap.

That's just it. When you (accidentally) buy/inherit careless people's machines, they've been sitting with water in them for too long.

Half the pictures of equipment I see on the Web show open lines, sitting in a grassy field or paved equipment lot. It's just criminal. I've seen Other People leave the cork out of bottle jacks, too. I just shake my head and thank Crom that the equipment isn't mine. You'd be surprised at how few people actually change hydraulic oil on a regular basis, even as cheap as it is (compared to motor oil). 'Tis enough to make one weep, wot?

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Oops, I meant to say "Hell Yes!". (No, I don't abuse machines.)

Reply to
Larry Jaques

I ditched teflon tape years ago and much prefer the WeldOn White Seal goop with PTFE for any pipe joints. Is Rectorseal 5 better, and if so, why?

Reply to
Larry Jaques

Well, you fix it like this: You put two bungees on the arms. You move the two arms that normally let the box drop to a preset height. There is no hydraulics involved in the drop, only the raise. Drop is caused by the weigh of the box. So, dropped the arms, hooked it all back up, and took off. Now I need to get my big boy wrenches out, and go all over that sucker, and tighten all the loose stuff, one of which caused this. Zillions of zerks. Might have to go buy me an air powered grease gun. I don't have one, so that's actually reason enough.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

It was a not understanding how the whole thing works thing.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

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